Police Union lodges multi-million dollar claim for injured constable

The Police Union in Western Australia is pursuing a multi-million dollar payout for a constable who was partially paralysed after being head-butted.

Constable Matt Butcher was trying to make arrests during a brawl outside a Perth pub in 2008 when he was hit from behind with what police called a 'flying head-butt'.

He suffered massive head injuries and now has paralysis on his left side.

WA Police Union president Russell Armstrong says they have lodged a multi-million dollar claim to properly compensate Matt Butcher for his injuries.

"That's now with the Attorney-General and we would certainly hope that there is a speedy resolution to this and both sides of parliament work together to compensate Matt," he said.

Constable Butcher spent two weeks in a coma after the brawl outside the Old Bailey Tavern in February, 2008.

He was 32 at the time - he's lost use of his left arm, his vision has been affected and he needs assistance to walk.

Constable Butcher is at work but his duties have been reduced.

The State Opposition Leader Eric Ripper says he supports a large payment.

"There are long term needs. No-one can take away the full disadvantage that he's suffering but there will be care needs for members of his family, there may be house modification needs," he said.

"The Government should be looking at the advice of professionals and not setting an artificial limit on the amount of compensation that Mr Butcher should receive."

The Lawyers Alliance says it is concerned that people who have suffered catastrophic injury may have their prospects reduced by uninformed public debate.

Its national president Brian Hilliard says that in cases of brain injury, compensation should be high.

"If he has to have constant care, if he's losing his ability to earn income for the rest of his life, a relatively young man I think you can easily do the sums to work out that the compensation required in these type of cases is often well in excess of a million dollars, sometimes multi-millions of dollars," he said.

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